


Rainbow Scarf

by adayinthelife_00 (redbeatleboots)



Category: McLennon - Fandom, The Beatles
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 07:21:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9646112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redbeatleboots/pseuds/adayinthelife_00
Summary: I read the news today, oh boy...Everything goes wrong at the end even though at the start everything seems like it's going to go so well.This was written before Runaway, and I'm only now posting it.





	

The train rattled into Charing Cross Station. John Lennon had just sat through a day long aeroplane trip and the train ride into London from Heathrow, on top of the jetlag he was experiencing. He’d live his life from the time he was eight in a town, even if it was technically a city, on a tiny island called Tasmania. He remembered when his family still lived in Liverpool, but financial troubles and job opportunities made his family move there. His mother became a nurse in the local hospital and worked there until she died on holiday in Melbourne, a city on the mainland. He had to live with his aunt and uncle until he decided, one day soon after his mother’s death, he was going to try his luck back home. He saved up, and had enough money to get by until he got a job. He’d arranged a Craigslist home and would stay there for a while. He was exhausted, even though it was about seven in the morning, it felt like the middle of the night. He adjusted his rainbow, knitted scarf he insisted on wearing, and strode towards the door, making sure he had a hold on his suitcases and guitar case. The doors opened, and he stepped into the unusually quiet station, but John assumed it was always like this at this time of day. He wasn’t the only one getting off, but he still felt alone here, in an unfamiliar place. On the surface, he hailed a taxi, and asked to go to the address. The driver laughed at him, and said;  
‘That address doesn’t exist!’  
The driver laughed a bit more, and moved up to take another passenger. There weren’t any more available taxis. John tried ringing the given number, but it wasn’t a real number either. He swore under his breath; he’d been catfished. He sat outside the station, and heard the next train come in. A couple walked up the stairs, and noticed him.  
‘Hey, what’s wrong, man?’ the man asked. He looked not too much younger than John himself, and had a similar hairdo and so on, had brown eyes and was skinny.   
‘Got catfished.’ John replied.  
‘You’re foreign then? Do you have a place to go?’ he asked.  
‘No.’ John said half-heartedly.  
‘We’ve got a spare room. You won’t mind, Jade?’  
‘No, I don’t.’ Jade said. She was as skinny as he was, but much paler and had black rather than dark brown hair. She too had a suitcase.  
‘You wanna come, then?’ the man asked.  
‘Yeah, sure.’ John said, feeling the two were being genuine. He followed them to their car, and he hopped into the back, trying to not get his long black coat trapped under the door. ‘Do you mind me asking, how are you two related?’  
‘Brother and sister, George’s older by a year though.’  
‘Oh, I see the resemblance now!’ John exclaimed. They had a similar facial shape, and had the same funny teeth, and even were similar heights. He now knew the name of the man, too. George. They pulled up to a three-storey townhouse that was old, but not too old. ‘Wow. How did you two get this place?’  
‘Grandparent’s old house. Our dad died, and they moved into a retirement home. We weren’t close to Dad but were to them…’ George said. They all got out of the car when it came to a stop. John went to grab his suitcase, but George insisted on taking his suitcase. John picked up his guitar case.   
‘So what brought you to London, then? And from where?’ George asked.  
‘Oh, I’m trying my luck at the arts, y’know? There really wasn’t much back in Tassie.’  
‘Oh, I’ve heard of that place! Devils and Errol Flynn!’ Jade said. ‘C’mon, I’ll show you to your room.’ Jade picked up his case and walked up the stairs, with John close behind. They went up to the third floor, which was probably the attic but usable. They entered the room to the left, as the right hand room was ‘storage’. It had a bed, chest of drawers and a wardrobe. The walls were all white, which was probably undercoat. The floor was a red carpet. John didn’t mind that, red was his favourite colour. He hung his hat, coat and scarf on the hook behind the door. ‘I’ll leave you to un packing, but tomorrow I’ll take you out and look for paint colours, and if you want furniture shopping.’ Jade was quite a nice girl, John thought. These two were so kind, firstly offering him a place to stay, but now live, furniture and all. He put his few clothes in the drawers and wardrobe, and put his photos on the chest of drawers. He put his phone charger down in the socket, but didn’t switch it on. He finally took out his teddy, he refused to give it up as it was made by his mother. It seemed childish, but plenty of people must do that, right? He was done in five minutes. He walked out of the room, and went downstairs.  
‘No.’ John said.  
‘Right, that’s good. Breakfast?’  
‘Er, no thanks. I’m going to sleep, jetlag and that.’ John said, suppressing a yawn.   
‘Alright then. We’ll leave you things to eat if you’re asleep.’ George said. John walked upstairs, went to the toilet, and got into bed. He hit the pillow asleep. For the next few nights, he was awake until dawn, but then he got used to the day/night cycle. He was pretty sure that Jade was also awake at this time, she didn’t normally wake up until ten. George had work at a pub or something, John didn’t remember, from nine ‘til five. Finally, John’s sleep righted itself to sleeping from twelve in the morning to eight. Jade took him out to a DIY store and let him choose the paint colour or colours he wanted, which ended up being red and a slight off white. Soon, the room was painted and liveable again, and Jade and George even gave John a desk with bookshelves, which John insisted in paying back for, but the two wouldn’t accept more than half of the price. John was slightly suspicious, but he thought about it, and maybe they were a rare brother/sister co-relationship that worked, and they were both kind, Jade was mysterious, and very secretive, and George acknowledged him, and was serious most of the time. But he was wrong, as he would soon find out.   
After a fortnight, John had auditioned for a musical, and had got a decent part. He wasn’t the lead, but enough to be credited as a major role. It wasn’t too long before the musical began, but still, it was a month away and he was in major rehearsals already. The person who had been cast had to leave, and the backup had already left, so they reauditioned.   
The opening night was a success. Apparently, a rich family, called the McCartney’s, had come to watch, but John had never heard of them. On the next night, apparently the second oldest son, Paul, had come back. He couldn’t tell, but on the third night he was back, and he could recognise him from a picture Amelia, one of his co-stars, had shown him. There was a knock at his dressing room door that night. It was Mr Gilligan, a nice old man who was in charge of people coming backstage.  
‘The young Mr McCartney would like to see you, near the backstage entrance, sir.’  
‘Alright then. Thanks, Mr Gilligan.’  
‘No problem, just doing my job.’  
John finished getting changed back into street clothes, and walked out.   
‘Hey, John?! Over here!’ came a voice.  
‘Err… I presume you’re Paul? The one who wanted to see me?’ John asked the pretty faced young man about the same age as himself.  
‘Yeah, errr… you straight?’  
‘What sort of a question is that? You wanna ask me out or something?’ John was shocked.  
‘… maybe.’ Paul said sheepishly, looking away.  
‘Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.’ John said, and walked away. But he knew he wasn’t entirely straight, he liked some guys, and some girls. He didn’t want to go out with anyone yet. Not yet, but maybe he should go back and apologise for being so rude. He shook off the feeling, he had walked too far and he was too tired. He flopped on his bed and fell asleep. On the third night, he found a note on the dressing table in his dressing room. It read:  
‘Dear John,  
I know I may be being a bit pushy, but if you’d give me a chance please?  
Meet me at the same place after the show. I’ll be there.  
Sincerely, P. McCartney.’  
John smiled at the note. Maybe he should give Paul a chance. He performed that night well, and noticed Paul sitting in the box he had been for the past three nights. He wondered why such a rich family decided to view a strange little musical in a less popular theatre in the West End, that couldn’t even pull proper stars into the cast. It was one of those things that happened. He got into his street clothes, and headed out. Paul was waiting for John at the door once again, but this time they didn’t need introducing to each other.  
‘Are you going to walk away again, because if you are, go.’ Paul said.  
‘No, this time I’m gonna give you a chance.’  
‘Y- you are?’ Paul said in surprise. ‘Do you want to go for a walk, grab a bite to eat maybe?’  
‘OK.’ John said. They began walking slowly.  
‘What brought you out here then?’ Paul asked as they walked along the quiet, dark street.  
‘Absolutely fuck all back home.’ John replied. ‘And I didn’t like it anyway.’  
The two went into a McDonald’s and had some burgers. John slowly felt himself liking this Paul boy even more.   
-Some Time Later-  
John had been performing around the place, getting money and doing what he loved. He and Paul had been dating too. After one matinee, John decided that he’d get himself a chocolate bar from a nearby newsagent’s. In the windows of this newsagent were the daily papers, that John took time to read. He couldn’t believe what one said…  
‘Local rich family involved in tragic car collision!   
The wealthy McCartney family was hit with a horrible surprise yesterday, after two of their sons, Paul and Mike, were involved with a nasty collision. The family has declined comments, but the brothers are in hospital, critical condition.’  
John ditched the idea of the chocolate, held onto the bouquet from the show and ran to the hospital mentioned in the article.   
‘Excuse me, but could I see Paul McCartney please?’ John asked one of the nurses at the reception.   
‘Are you a relation?’  
‘No, boyfriend.’  
‘I see. Follow me.’ the nurse said in her monotone voice, leading him around to where Paul lay, on IV and oxygen. John held his hand until he had to go, leaving his bouquet for him. His bus ride home was gloomy and in silence, and it even began to rain. He had his held hung low when he got back to Jade and George’s place.   
‘Hey, what’s wrong?’ George asked him.   
‘Paul’s in the hospital. He’s not even conscious.’ John sighed, a tear rolling down his cheek.   
‘Paul?’  
‘My boyfriend...’  
‘Oh, no. I’m so sorry.’ George came over to him and hugged him, but when John brushed him away he didn’t try and continue. John walked up to his room, and he cried all night.  
The next morning, John woke up to screaming downstairs. He jumped up, threw on a t-shirt and jeans, and ran downstairs. Jade had been getting herself breakfast, judging by the bowl on the bench, when a masked intruder about 6’3” had smashed through the window, and had scratched at her face with a knife. Blood was everywhere, and John didn’t know what was happening but suddenly he was hitting the intruder over the head with a chair. The intruder ran off, and John immediately dropped the chair and called 999. He rang for an ambulance and for the police, and then rang George about it.   
‘Why is everything going wrong for me? Why am I being thrown into the deeper end of life?’ he muttered under his breath. George rode with Jade to the hospital, while John had to give a statement to the police, before he went to the hospital like he would have. He sat with George for a while, and then sat with Paul, holding his hand and crying. His heart broke when the ECG flatlined and the nurses came running, but there was nothing they could do. John was still holding his hand as Paul took his last breaths.   
The police couldn’t find the intruder that day, but Jade made a full recovery, but her beautiful face still had scars. Mike recovered with a limp, and John decided one thing.  
He had to carry on, just for Paul’s sake.


End file.
